There’s a slightly comical element to this story as we see Saul the unanointed future King of Israel tromping about in the wilderness looking for his dad’s lost donkeys. It’s such an ignominious thing for a future King to be doing. Except that at this stage Saul has no idea that this was to be his calling. I loved the throw away comment from Samuel, the esteemed prophet, “Don’t worry about the donkeys, they’ve been found already.” (v.20) followed by, “To whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?”  It’s such a random thing to say and not backed up by any explanation or comment from Samuel. It’s no wonder that Saul seems so perplexed by the whole encounter.

So often in life this seems to be the way that God works. I’ve found myself doing simple tasks only to find that God had something else in mind all along. I suspect that sometimes He just wants us to get moving so that He can see we have faith and some momentum before he shows us what’s really going on. So I’d encourage you to pay attention to the odd things that happen in life. You never quite know when God might suddenly say, ‘Oh by the way I’m going to make you the next King or Queen of England’ (or perhaps something slightly less grand). Whatever the case don’t worry about the little things you find yourself doing, like searching for donkeys, God will be in the bigger plan that you can’t see until you’re in it.

Saul must have wondered why Samuel asked him to send his servant on ahead as they prepared to go home again but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens.

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Question:

What has God got you doing today? What has He sent you to look for or to do for Him? What might come out of it if you follow Him closely?

Prayer:

Lord God, I am Your servant, help me to follow You always, to be obedient to Your call and to see the things that You have planned for me and for those I meet with. In Jesus’ name I ask. Amen.